History of Montessori in Taiwan

[Puppet]

@nz

There was a lot of “we adapt for the culture and our environment” excuses that really didn’t jive well with me.

That always bugged me. Adaptation to the culture and environment will happen in some aspects. The practical life area using things like chopsticks is more needed here than it is in America, adding aspects of Taiwanese culture like a traditional tea ceremony would be wonderful (especially for elementary age), etc. But that phrase has almost always been used to excuse why they treat the materials as “a great way to learn (math)” instead of an aid to the child’s development.

That mentality has sadly also carried over to the training I have seen happen here. I actually saw a few people taking AMS training in Taiwan suddenly have a worksheet they were given for the pink tower. It was just ten squares of differing sizes on top of each other and the child had to color them pink. What purpose they thought it served, I can’t even imagine.

Previous schools I worked at hated how little extra paperwork I would give students and they always wanted more. Glad to be far away from that now. From my experience, the parents didn’t want that if you take the time to explain what is actually happening in the classroom and explain what benefits they WILL see. Because once they see the benefits the child is supposed to get, they see the system working.

[nz]

@Puppet

have a worksheet they were given for the pink tower.

WTF. Especially in primary (that’s preschool/kindergarten to anyone reading this unfamiliar with Montessori terminology), when worksheets go against child development 100% of the time.

@Puppet

From my experience, the parents didn’t want that if you take the time to explain what is actually happening in the classroom and explain what benefits they WILL see.

I’m glad you were able to successfully do that. I think the biggest problem that Taiwan has (and I won’t dispute this being a problem in the West as well) is that parents who are able to genuinely trust in and follow their child are rare. Add to that the amount of money you spend on tuition, and you’re going to expect to see “results” in the form of completed worksheets and other busywork. I don’t envy the admin of non-traditional schools here. I’m sure that for every parent that comes in looking for something different for their child, there are ten parents that insist that their child be treated in a traditional way while using Montessori materials to learn. And, at the end of the day, these schools are businesses…